SHIFT
by Rockinrach
Summary: Scarlett Phillips is a normal girl for the most part. She doesn't look for drama and she tends to like to be alone, spending her time in the deep forest behind her house. That is, until new boy, Jesse Carter, comes to town. Thinking that he is just like every other stuck up, popular, rich kid, Scar ignores him... until he tries to become as close as he can to her.
1. Chapter 1

The familiar ding of Scarlett Phillips cell phone woke her out of sleep.

Skool Time Scar! :)

Wake up, wake up, wake up!

Scarlett smiled down at the text message Anna sent her. Anna was Scar's best friend and has been since the first day of first grade. Scar picked up her phone and replied

Alright I'm up, A. But thx for the wake-up call.

I guess. :)

She stretched out on her bed and started getting ready for another boring day of High School. Once she got her shower and brushed her teeth and hair she slipped into her favorite pair of faded jeans, put on a tank top and her brown jacket over top, with her baseball cap to cover her long brown hair. She never wore any type of make-up and very rarely would you see her in jewelry. On the outside, she was a very plain girl. She never wanted to stand out. She always wanted to blend in to the crowd than to be the one everyone in the crowd is staring at. She would feel uncomfortable with so many eyes on her. Unless it was her friends. Them she could handle. Other people? Not so much. Of course, she had other reasons for being a plain Jane. She never wanted to be the one that the popular kids looked at, liked what they show, then decided to be friends with her just cause of how she looked or dressed. She wanted to make friends because of the fact that they liked her personality. Not her looks. Because in her school, most kids made their friends like that. It got seriously annoying sometimes. But it wasnt like she was an outcast. She had friends, a pretty good amount. But she didn't need or want to be one of those Known-By-Everyone-Because-Of-Who-You-Hang-Out-With popular kids. She never had and she never would.

Once she was ready it was 7:00 am so she went into her mom's room and woke her up. Her mom would be late for work everyday if it wasnt for Scar. Her mom was not a morning person and she never used an alarm clock. So eventually, somehow, Scar became her personal alarm clock every morning.

"Mom," She said while shaking her mothers shoulder gently. "Get up. You have work to get ready for."

Her mother groaned and said "Five more minutes." And covered her head with her pillow.

Scarlett laughed. "Isn't it usually the teenager who says that? Not the parent?"

"No." Her mother said, voice muffled by the pillow. "Not when the mother wants to get some rest and her annoying teenage daughter is torturing her by trying to get her up." Scar could tell her mother was only kidding and she could hear the smile in her voice as she talked.

So, Scarlett lifted up the pillow and hit her mom over the head with it. Her mother laughed at her and said "Okay, Okay. I'm up."

"Good." Scar said with a smile "Because I need to go to school, so I will see you when I get home okay?"

"Okay, sweetie. Love you." Her mom said as Scarlett walked towards the door.

"Love you too," She replied and walked out of the room closing the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, Scar was riding down the street towards Anna's house with her skateboard. She still had not managed to get a car. So, she was stuck with her board. When she came up to Anna's house she saw Anna just coming out of her house with her keys in hand and backpack slung over her shoulder. Scar rode over and flipped up her skateboard and took off her helmet, replacing it with her hat, while she walked towards her friend. Anna was wearing her normal bright clothes: A pink shirt and her bright red skinny jeans with earings on and multicolored shoes. Anna and Scar were different in so many ways but most times, it just made their lives interesting.

"Hey. Hop in." Anna said with as jerk of her head towards her Volkswagen in the driveway. Unlike Scar, Anna had already gotten her car. Her mother had bought it for her the moment she had gotten her licence. Scar thanked Anna and got in. Now that Anna got a car she always gave Scar a ride to school. It was easier to do that then riding her skateboard all the way to school.

"Hey, did you hear? We got a new kid." Anna said as she drove down the street to school.

"Guy or girl?"

"Guy."

"Year?"

"Same as us. He's a Junior."

"Great," Scar sighed. Another Junior guy to become a jerk just like everyone else. "Ten bucks says Brittney gets her paws on him first."

"No way. Definitely Shelby."

"Your on."

Brittney and Shelby were the co captains of the cheer leading squad. Everytime a new kid, boy or girl, came to school, they were the first one's to know about it. No matter who it was, they always tried to get to them before anyone else so they could...change them. Or at least try to.

One time, this guy Mike came to the school and he was a nice guy, a little dorky but nice all the same. He wore glasses and was a good student in school. But that was before Brittney and Shelby got to him. Now, he wears contacts, gets all D's and or F's on every paper he gets, and he's one of the Populars. He picks on kids who used to be like him.

That's why Anna and Scar didn't like The Populars. They thought they ruled the school. So, when they found out a new kids was coming they didn't really pay much attention. Whoever it was, he was going to either be changed or, if he refused, which rarely ever happens, he would be hated by all the Populars, making him just another outcast.

Once they came to school they met up with Brad. A guy that's been their friend for a year. He was one of the only ones to refuse to be changed by anyone. That's why they liked him. Both Scar and Anna knew he wasn't going to leave them for The Populars.

"Hey, guys. Have you met Jesse yet?"

"Jesse? Is he the new kid?" Scar asked as they walked to the building.

"Yeah. And he's pretty cool." Brad said.

"Wait-How have you met him?" Anna asked on the other side of Scar.

"I was walking to school when he offered me a ride. We talked on the way here and he seems like a cool guy. Really nice. Only problem is that when we parked, Shelby came up and dragged him away."

"Ha! Pay up! And I'm not really sure I like the idea of you grabbing a ride with a complete stranger, Brad." Anna said with a smiled stretched across her face. Brad ignored her comment. They all knew he didn't really think things through before he did something.

"Ugh. Fine, here." Scar pulled out a 10 from her wallet and handed it to Anna. Then, seeing the confused look on Brad, she told him about the bet they had made in the car.

"Oh. Well from the look on Jesse's face when he met Shelby, it didn't look like he was to interested." Brad said hopefully.

"Well, I still think he will become a popular. Everyone does. Well... except for you of course." Anna said to Brad.

"We'll see. Anyway I'll see you guys at lunch. I have Mr. Kilby first and he'll give me detention if I'm late again." He waved good-bye to his friends and walked off down the hall.

Anna and Scar were lucky enough to have almost all the same classes together, so they both walked over to their home room. They were still talking about the new kid and Brad when Mr. Paden walked in. Anna turned back around in he chair and Scar took out her notebook while she heard Mr. Paden say "Okay, everyone. I would like to introduce you all to Mr. Carter." Scar looked up from her desk to the boy Mr. Paden was referring to.

Jesse stood with his backpack on one shoulder and a small smile playing along his lips. He looked at everyone in the class and seemed to have a sort of confidence radiate off him. Scar rolled her eyes, and thought _Great. He's one of those cocky rich kids, I bet.. If The Populars get to him, they wouldn't be changing him to much. _It was when she was thinking this that noticed everyone else in the room was staring at Jesse with a sort of longing and fascination in their eyes. Even Anna, which was even weirder to Scar. Anna was not the gawking type of gal.

She looked back over st Jesse to see if she had missed something that all the other kids had seen right off the bat. But she couldn't find anything that would cause them all to look like they were right now. She cocked her head to the side. Odd. It was as she was looking him over to see what she had missed when she realized Jesse was staring straight at her. Their eyes met and his smile gradually faded away to a look of confusion and shock. Like he was surprised to find out that there was someone who wasn't looking at him like he was some Pop Star coming straight from the heart of Hollywood. She rolled her eyes at him and went back to her notebook, ignoring Jesse. Better then letting him think she was even mildly interested.

When Scar heard Mr. Paden speak again, she looked up at the teacher, avoiding eye contact with Jesse. "Jesse, you may sit next to miss Phillips in the back. Scarlett, Please raise your hand so Jesse knows where to go." Scar inwardly groaned and very slowly raised her hand in the air. Jesse was walking over to her even before she got her hand in the air. He sat next to her and he dropped his back pack on the ground. As he sat in his seat, even though she wasnt looking at him, she could feel his stare on her. It made her feel very uncomfortable. So, in a not so subtle way, she raised her hood above her head so he couldn't see most of her face. But when she could still tell that he was looking at her she turned a asked "What are you staring at?" sharply, irritation lacing her voice.

When he heard her speak though, instead of answering her he looked shocked and just looked away to the front of the room, like she'd verbally slapped him. Good.

She made a mental note to ask Anna why everyone (including her) was acting so weird around the new kid when there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary about him. But for now, she decided not to dwell on it and she focused all of her attention on the Teacher.


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean? I wasn't staring. I was just... looking at him intently. There was just something about him that made me want to stare at him forever. Not that I was staring or anything."

Scarlett listened to Anna answer her question about why she acted so weird around Jesse while she was still trying to figure out why herself.

She didn't understand what Anna meant. Of course she was staring! Everyone in the whole classroom was, well except for Scarlett. It was like the whole class was in a trance the moment he stepped into the room. But How can someone put a trance on everyone in the class (including the teacher, because even though he fought hard against it, she could tell he was focused on Jesse to) just by looking at them? He's not Houdini! It's not possible, so there isn't a way that he did it. But apparently everyone seemed to disagree that it was weird and unnatural. Scar didn't understand any of it. But she had a feeling she didn't really want to.

At the end of the school day Scar was not happy at all. The new kid, Jesse, was apparently in half of all of Scar's classes. And in English, Mrs. Carma chose her to study with Jesse every day after school, to help him catch up with the class, starting next week. Sometimes being the smartest kid in your class just was not a good thing for her.

When Anna offered her a ride home, Scar declined. "I just want to cool off for a while." She had told her.

Scar strapped on her helmet and started riding towards her house. She always liked riding on her skateboard, or running, when she was upset or angry. She loved the feel of the air whipping past her because she was causing it to do so. The only problem with it today though, was the fact it started to rain. Normally, that wouldn't bother her but today she had her laptop and all her homework inside her backpack. If it rained hard enough, then everything would be ruined.

"Oh, crap." She mumbled. She could call Anna. But when Scar reached in her backpack to get her Cell phone, she realized she had left it on her bedside table this morning. Her house was still over three miles away. She could run or ride her skateboard. But with the way the clouds were rolling in, there was no way she could make it home in time, even if she was to run as fast as she could (which was pretty fast).

She was just about to take her unlikely chances with running when she heard the distant sound of a car. Thank God, she thought. Hitchhiking wasn't her first choice but since the only place the car could really come from was from school, she assumed it was another fellow classmate. She popped up her skateboard and started flagging down the car while praying it would stop and that if it did, it wouldn't end up to be some psycho pathic killer with a gun in the back seat. She lived in a fairly small town and knew a lot of people. She hoped that this was someone she knew. If it wasn't, she'd say she made a mistake and carry on her way. She'd rather risk getting slightly wet then getting raped and dumped in a ditch. It would take her fairly bad day to new levels of crappiness.

The Jeep Wrangler was almost to her and it was slowing down and pulling over. Just in time to, because she was starting to feel the first big drops of rain start to come down. She ran over to the driver side window and started to tell the person there that she needed a ride home when she realized who it was behind the wheel.

She sighed and muttered "Just my luck,"

"Good to see you too. It's Scarlett, right? Need a ride?" He asked with a smirk, most likely at her predicament rather then a friendly gesture.

Scar bit her lip and started to decide whether or not she should except a ride from him. True, she sort of knew him and he didn't seem like a psycho but she never knew. But she doubted it. So, she had a choice. She could either take her chances with running and most likely get all of her homework and her laptop ruined. Or she could except the ride and ride home safely with no harm to her homework. But it also meant taking a ride from a freak show who seemed to draw the complete attention of everyone around him but her and who seemed just as confused by that concept as she was.

In the end, she choose the latter. Even though she didn't really want to, it was her only choice. "I guess." She sighed. Scar heard the doors unlock for her.

"Hop in." Jesse gave her a charming smile and she almost laughed cause, to her, it was funny how he thought it would work. But once he said that she didn't hesitate a second longer than needed. The rain was starting to come down harder now and one more second out there and her homework wouldn't survive. Once she got in the car, she thanked Jesse and told him where she lived. He nodded in response and started to drive away. She only briefly worried about how he now knew where she lived. But how else was she suppose to get home?

Once he pulled away, Jesse started to turn the volume up on his radio. It had been on before but Scarlett hadn't noticed because it was turned down so low. But now that she could hear the song that was playing, she smiled and said, "I stole your love."

Jesse looked over at her with raised eyebrows and asked "Excuse me?"

"The song," She pointed to the radio. "It's _I stole your love_."

Jesse looked at the radio like he hadn't even noticed, even though he was the one who put it on in the first place. "Oh, yeah. You actually know who Kiss is?" He looked kind of shocked that a 17-year-old girl like Scar knew who the band Kiss was. Let alone knew one of their songs.

"Well, yeah. My dad used to listen to them all the time."

"He has good taste in music then." Was his reply.

"Yeah. He did." Scar had stopped smiling when she mentioned her father. Luckily, Jesse seemed to notice this, so he didn't press that subject. Scar liked him just a tinsy bit more just for that.

"So, you like rock music?" Jesse asked instead, to change the mood in the car.

Scarlett looked over at him and said "Yep. The only kind of music I listen to." She did not want to engage in small talk. She started it and now she regretted it. Less time spent talking to him, the better chance for her not to be tainted by his stuck-up attitude towards everything.

"Why?"

Scarlett opened her mouth to answer the question with "I guess because I grew up with it. My mom and dad both listened to it almost all the time." But when she started to think about it she decided instead to say "Because its real music."

Jesse seemed slightly confused, his eyebrows pulled together. "How do you mean?" He asked.

"Like... the people who made the music. They do it because they want to. Not because they think the people will like it or because their producers say so. And its real music. It's real people, playing real instruments, and not using the computer effects that are in hip-hop or pop music these days. And I also like it because its loud. For some reason rock music is so much more calming to me then soothing music. If that makes any sense to you at all." She didn't expect it to and avoided eye contact, looking out the window at the falling rain. She was sort of embaressed that she had just spouted a mini-monolouge over a simple question.

But when Scar saw Jesse's reflection in the darkened window, she saw that he was nodding like he agreed with everything she had just said and understood every word of it. "Yeah, I agree." Was all he said though.

There was silence in the car after that. Except for the music playing through the speakers, the two teens kept quiet. Jesse looked like he wanted to say something a couple of times, but then seemed to think better of it. He kept opening his mouth then shutting it right after ward. Like he didn't know how to talk to her.

When he pulled up at her house she said "Thanks for the ride." and was reaching for the handle of the door when she heard Jesse say "Wait."

Scarlett's hand was on the handle to open the door. What she really wanted to do right now, was open up the door get out and run to her house and pretend she had never heard him say anything. She knew his type. And she didn't want to spend any more time with him than she absolutely had to. But at the same time, she couldn't be mean. She hated being mean to someone who didn't deserve it. She didn't know Jesse and he hadn't really done anything to make her hate him. Yet.

She was still waiting.

So, she'd hear what he was going to say then as politely as possible, make a break for her house and try not to speak with him ever again. Something about him made her skin crawl in a bad way. But she turned around anyway and said "Yes?" with as much politeness as she could muster up.

"I just... wanted to tell you I was sorry." Then when he saw the confused look on her face he added "For the teacher sticking you with me to study. It wasn't hard to tell you didn't want to. So, I wanted to say sorry for getting you stuck with it." He seemed sincere, his eyes matching his words.

Oh, God. Now he was making here feel guilty for being so mean to him when she didn't really know him. She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "I'm sorry for acting like that. It's just... Okay, no offense, but to me you seemed like one of those snobby, cocky, rich kids who thinks their all that and think that just cause they have money they can have anything they want, anybody they want."

She expected him to be offended by what she had just said. After all, it wasn't the nicest thing to say and most people would be mad at her and call her out on judging them before she knew them. Which, in this case, was exactly what she had done.

But all Jesse did was chuckle and say "That was supposed to be Non-Offensive?"

Scarlett smiled sheepishly and said "Sorry. I guess it was pretty harsh."

He just shrugged and said "It's fine. But if you don't mind, I think I want to make up for doing whatever it is that I did to make you think I was a snobby cocky rich kid. What are you doing Saturday? I'd like to show you that I'm not that kind of guy." He said with another one of those charming smiles.

Of course. Her first impression of him what exactly correct. He just wanted to go out with her and see what he could get out of it. So, she just rolled her eyes and replied "I don't think so. You don't need to make up for anything so it's completely unnecessary." She had planned on just getting out after that and leaving the conversation like that. But when she reached for the door handle she heard a _click! _A quick glance at the lock made her see that he had locked the doors and she couldn't get out without reaching over him for the button. What kind of car didn't have a unlock button on the front door?

She looked over at Jesse with an appalled expression on her face. All he did was smile a very dangerous smile and say "You didn't answer my question."

"You can't just lock the doors! Let me out. Now."

"Not until you answer my question." He said with that dumb smile, that at that moment all she wanted to do was smack him so hard in the face he wouldn't be able to smile like that again.

"You do realize I could just punch you in the face and reach over to unlock the doors, right?" Scar said, with what she hoped was confidence in her voice.

"Yeah, I do. But you would have to able to hit me first." He replied with total confidence that with a sinking feeling, Scar knew he had a right to have. She would never be able to land a hit on him. And even if she did, she wouldn't have enough time to unlock the doors and get out before he recovered from the hit. Scar could fight. Really good actually if she needed to. But from the looks of Jesse, he would be able to stop any advance she would make on him.

"Hiking."

"What?" Jesse asked, slightly taken aback.

Scar gritted her teeth and closed her eyes trying to calm down before her temper got really out of control and she did or said something stupid. "I'm hiking Saturday." She said with an emphasis on each word "Happy now?"

"Yes." and of course he still had that smile on his face. "I am. Mind if I join you?"

"Yes." She said with a glare.

"I'm not letting you out until you agree, I hope you know that."

"That's kidnapping!"

"Actually it's not. See, you got in here willingly. I didn't force you. And we are right in front of your house." He shrugged.

"Oh my god!" Scar screamed and she hit the door. She did that when she was mad. She hit things. It never hurt, even if she hit it so hard she started to bleed. She was always to mad to notice it and her temper just sort of made the pain go away for a while. And right now, she was seriously mad. She didn't even know this dude! And he was already annoying the crap out of her. She knew he wouldn't actually kidnap her. But he also wouldn't let her go for a while. And she would not be able to handle it. She might do something stupid.

"All you have to do is say yes." He said in a sort of sing songy way. She groaned in response while he looked like he was stifiling a laugh. "Oh come on. It's not a big deal. I promise I'll be on my best behavior." He was enjoying this way to much. He was crazy.

Scar looked at him sternly. And after thinking it over, she figured she had to say yes, or be trapped in this Jeep forever until she managed to find a way out. So, she exhaled through her nose to calm down a little then said, "Fine. But." She held up a finger before he could say anything."Here's the conditions. You listen to what I say, you stop with all this cocky crap, and you have to be at my house at exactly 9:00. Even a second later and I swear I'll leave without you. Deal?"

"Deal." he said and grinned. She heard the doors click unlock. "See you then."

Scarlett didn't waste any more time. The moment the doors were unlocked she bolted out of the car and was about to slam the door when she turned back and said "You might want to work on the hitting on girls thing. Because, and please take offense to this, you suck at it." then she really did slam the door shut on Jesse's laughing face. Scar ran up the driveway to her house as Jesse pulled away. Vaguley, she wondered if she just made a date with the devil.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Friday afternoon, and Scarlett had just dropped herself on to her bed after a very long day at school. It had not been the best day for Scarlett. And it doesn't take much imagination to guess who was responsible for it all.

Jesse.

Scarlett had been planning on keeping Saturday a secret. She didn't want anyone thinking that she was going on a date with Jesse. (And she refused to believe it was a date) But apparently he had other ideas. He had come up to her at the start of class and told her how happy he was that they were finally going on their date tomorrow. Of course what made it even worse was that he had said it with a smug smile that told her he knew exactly what he was doing. Scar looked behind him at everyone's shocked faces. They had heard everything he said. The moment he walked into the room everyone had stopped talking and followed him with their eyes as he walked to the back of the room. (Scarlett was still trying to figure out why people did that but she wasn't having much luck with it.)

"It's not a date." She had said through gritted teeth. Why did he have to do this now? And in front of the whole class room!

"Sure it's not." Jesse said. After saying it he turned around to the class full of students and winked. Making it known that he thought it was very much considered a date. When it so was not!

Scarlett had just been about to say something that would have gotten her a week's worth of detention if the teacher had heard, when the bell rang for class to begin and Jesse walked to his seat while Mr. Paden called the class to attention.

After that little incident, Scar had tried to avoid Jesse all day long in fear that he might try to pull another stunt like he did that morning, only with more people involved and listening. Unfourtunatly, every where Scar looked, there he was. He was always just a step behind her or he would suddenly appear in front of her. Like he was following her just to get her mad. Well, it worked. By the end of the day Scarlett was practically spilling smoke out of her ears.

She had even tried to tell him to stop following her when he had just magically appeared right next to her, making her choke on the water she had drunk at the fountain. Because it wasn't like he had just walked over. No, it was more like he materialized right next to her. One minute she's alone and then - Poof! He appears. It might have been the only magic trick she wished she never had to see again. Of course, that was the reason she kept getting so shocked about it. She had no warning what so ever of him coming towards her.

"Would you stop that!" She had yelled, wiping water off her chin with her sleeve. Well, yelled as loudly as she could with a whole bunch of teachers and students hanging all around her.

"Stop what?" He asked with an overly dramatic innocent face.

"This! Following me around and showing up when I least expect it. I swear I'm about this close -" she held up her forefinger and thumb together so it only had a little gap between them "- to calling the cops and reporting you for stalking me." Of course, it was only an empty threat. They were in school and she didn't have any proof of his stalking her. But all he did was laugh and walk away saying, "See you tomorrow."

At that moment all she had wanted to do was walk up to him, turn him around, and punch him as hard as she could in the face and hope something broke. But she never got the chance. Unfourtunatly.

So now, Scarlett sat on her bed playing guitar and thinking of ways to get out of tomorrow.

She could claim to get a cold. But what if he came over anyway to find out if she really was sick? She couldn't fake that. And she was healthy all day today. He would know she was lying.

She could say she had to spend the day with Anna. But if he called Anna to confirm this she would say she didn't know anything about it. And Anna would never go along with it. She's all about giving people a chance. Scar does that to but she knows the type of people to give a chance to and the people you don't. Jesse was one of the dont's. Anna probably wouldn't go alone with it so that idea was out.

She had no idea what to do. She did not want to be alone with Jesse for any amount of time. But she didn't see how she could get out of it. She could just call him up and say she didn't want to go. But even though she could be mean when she wanted to be, that doesn't mean she was evil. She couldn't be mean to anyone who didn't do anything to her. Jesse had done something to her. He had annoyed her... That didn't seem like a ligit reason though.

Unfortunately, She decided to just let him come. If she needed to she could run away from him in the woods. No one knew that place better than Scarlett. She spends half her time there. And if he did turn out to be an evil freak, she could run. She was also a very fast runner. Fastest in the school. She could beat every person on the track team and their track team was one of the best. She was pretty sure she could out run Jesse if she needed to. She hoped she wouldn't.

The next morning, Scarlett had woken up at 7:00 and had gotten everything ready for the days hiking trip. She had packed plenty of food and water, a first aid kit, a sweat shirt if it rained, bug repellent, and sun screen, all in side the back pack she used on her trips in the forest. She always thought ahead to anything that might happen. She had even brought a flip out knife. Her mom had given it to her a couple of years back when her father had... disappeared. Now, she carried it everywhere, except school. It was small enough to fit in her pocket when it was closed. And Scarlett knew how to use it. She liked practicing with her knife. She had always imagined that the tree in her back yard was a bad guy and she would slash at it. It now had a bunch of knife marks in the bark. Of course, she hoped she never had to do that to a real person. She didn't think she would be able to anyway.

It was 8:30 by the time Scar had everything packed and ready. She was dressed in her sneakers, that were covered in mud from all the times she'd been out there, and her shorts and a shirt that said "Desire to win with the will to succeed", and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Now, she was just waiting to see if Jesse would actually show. She hoped he wouldn't. Not that she wanted to be stood up but she also didn't want to spend that much time with Jesse. Especially since she barely knew the guy. And what she did know, she wasn't so sure she liked.

So when 8:50 came and she heard a knock at the door, she crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped it wasnt him. She walked to the door and when she opened it, she groaned.

"Good to see you too." Jesse said with one of those smiles that turned other girls into jelly but just bugged Scarlett. He was dressed similar to her with shorts and a tee-shirt with sneakers.

Scarlett said nothing in return but instead just turned around on her heel and walked back to the kitchen where everything was, leaving the door open for Jesse to come in. He followed her to the kitchen after closing the door behind him. Scar reached inside the back pack and pulled out a big piece of white paper folded up like a map- A homemade map made by Scarlett.

She unfolded the map and laid it on the counter so Jesse could come over and see it.

"What's that?" He asked.

"It's a map of the forest we're going to be hiking in."

"You made this?" He looked mildly impressed.

"Yes. No one had these woods made into trails. I'm not really sure why but they didn't. So, for a couple of years, I've done it. But I'm the only one who knows about the trails and how they're laid out. No random by passer can follow them."

"Why?" He had to many questions already.

Scar sighed and said, "Because I didn't make a trail on the ground. I made it on the trees. And each trail leads to a different place, and they are not just straight forward. So, if you were to see one of my ribbons tied to a branch on one of the trees, you most likely wouldn't find another one of the same color. They're a lot of twists and turns to reach each ribbon."

"Why did you make it like that?"

"Because I don't want other people to be able to follow me in there." she snapped.

"Okay." He nodded. "But why would you have ribbons and a map if you already knew how the land was laid out?"

Scar looked up at Jesse and said, "Because. Only I know where the ribbons are tied and where they lead. So, I put them there so I won't get lost. Even if I know the land there is still a chance I can get lost in it. And the map is so I can memorize the trails I put down. If I put down a new trail, I want to make sure I know exactly where it leads and the places it leads to."

"Make's sense. But what does each trail lead to?"

"Do you ever say anything that isn't a question?" She finally snapped.

Jesse laughed and said, "Yes. I just like to know everything about what I'm doing."

"Well you could always leave and save the trouble of learning." She smiled sweetly at him and batted her eye lashes sarcastically.

"Nope. You're not getting rid of me that easy. I'm way to interested now."

"Darn."

Jesse laughed at her. He needed to stop finding everything so amusing. "So really. What do these trails leads to." He said once he stopped chuckling.

There were three trails on the map already. The red one, the blue one, and the yellow one. "The Red trail leads to a river that passes through the forest." She pointed to the Red dots that were scattered on the map. "The yellow leads to a meadow." She pointed at the yellow dots. "And the blue... leads to my place." She pointed at the blue dots.

"Your place? Why would you make a trail that leads right back to the start?"

"It doesn't." She replied. "Her place" was a cottage that her dad had built for her when she was 12. He had always taken her on trips through the woods. And when he found a place that had no trees in it he decided to build a cottage for her. That's how Scarlett had gotten in to going through the woods. It reminded her of her father. The Blue trial was the first one she had made, even though she knew by heart how to get there. The cottage wasnt big. Her dad had told her that he was going to build it for her so she could come and play in it when she wanted. Or watch the stars (She did that all the time). Or just to get away from everything. She did that now. All the time. When her mom wasnt home she would run to the cottage and just sit there and imagine her father was there with her.

She didn't tell Jesse all of this of course. She just told him what it was and that her father had built it for her.

"That's nice. You have a great dad if he did that for you. Where is he now?"

Unfortunately Scarlett could feel tears start to come to her eyes. She couldn't talk about her dad. To anyone.

"We should really get going if we wanna get home by dark." When she said this, her voice cracked so it was obvious she was going to cry and Jesse seemed to realized this. His eyes widened and he looked stricken. And slightly worried. Weird.

"Hey. Why are you crying?" He reached his hand out to her arm but before he could touch her, she turned away from him. She walked over to her back pack and pretended to look for something in it while she wiped her tears indiscreetly with the back of her hand. She hadn't wanted Jesse to touch her. She knew it would only make her think of her dad more and she would just start crying all over again. The worst part was that he actually seemed to care. When he had seen her start to cry and he had actually tried to comfort her. But she knew she couldn't trust Jesse. She knew his type and it wasnt good. So unless he proved to her, really showed that he wasn't who she thought he was, then she could trust him. But even then she wouldn't tell him about her father. That she couldn't tell him. She wouldn't.

"We need to get going. Grab the map." Was all she said. He did what he was told and he didn't push the subject any farther. Good.

Scarlett strapped on her back pack and started walking to the back door with Jesse not far behind her. They walked out of the house and before Scar hit the trees she turned around and asked Jesse which trail he wanted to take.

"It's my choice?" He asked. He seemed surprised but pleased by this. Scarlett nodded. "Okay... can we take the Blue path?"

Scarlett looked down at the ground and said "No." as firmly as possible.

"Oh, come on. Why not? I want to see the cottage."

"No. I've never taken anyone there before and You are not going to be the first."

Jesse looked at her closely. He knew this was about her father and he knew the true meaning of what she said was "I've never taken anyone but my father there before and I don't want anyone else there besides him". So after a few seconds he nodded and said that he wanted to go to the river.

"Good choice." she said and turned on her heel, walking to the forest.


	4. Chapter 4

Five hours later they reached the river. It was as beautiful as the last time Scar had been here. Jesse seemed to love it just as much as her and she smiled as she started walking towards it. There was a log on the side of it and Scar sat down on it. Jesse set the pack down (he had insisted he take it after 3 miles. Even though Scar did this all the time by herself.) and sat next to Scarlett.

"It's really pretty," He said and looked over at her.

"Yeah, it is." She nodded. She had pushed the incident in the kitchen to the back of her mind. She did not want to think about it. And apparently neither did Jesse because throughout the walk here he had not said a word about it. They had been talking about a lot of things. Jesse apparently didn't like the quiet because he always had things to say or comment on. But all in all it had been a good time. Jesse had been nice and they told jokes and laughed. She answered a lot of his questions (nothing to personal) and it had been sort of fun.

Which was the last thing Scarlett had expected. Or wanted.

"So how did you find this place?" Jesse asked, still looking at her.

"It wasnt that long ago." She told him. "I had been mad about something, I forget what by now, and I had just left. It was stupid because I had no idea where I was going but I didn't care. I just kept running. Soon, I came to this place and some how it calmed me down. I sat in this exact spot and looked at the water. Eventually I came to my senses and came back home." She smiled at the memory and said, "My mom knew I had gone in the woods since I do it all the time. But it took a long time to get here and then get back. She had stayed up all night and waited for me. It was like 5:00 in the morning when I finally came home."

"Wow. How did you have the energy to run here and then go back? I mean, if your walking that's different. But you said you ran, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know how, but I made it. I love running anyway so when I'm running really fast like I was doing, then time doesn't really matter." Jesse was looking at her with wonder. Seeing the look, she started to defend herself. "Alright, I know that sounds weird but it's the truth."

"It's not weird." Was all he said though. Eventually Jesse looked away from her and got up off the log and started walking towards the river.

"Be Careful! You could fall in." Jesse looked back at her and smiled a mischievous smile and waved off her warning. Scarlett looked after him as he knelt next to the fast flowing river. She was kind of worried that he would fall in but he seemed fine. After a few moments he called Scar over to him. She got up and started walking towards him. When she got to him she knelt beside him and said "What did you call-" But she never got to finish her sentence. Jesse flung a whole handful of ice cold water right at her. She gasped as she felt the chill, whipping herself into a standing position. He started bursting out laughing and fell to the floor. She glared at him and stomped away, wiping the water from her eyes so she could see.

"Scar! Come on, it was just a joke!" He said when he finally got in enough air to breath. He was still laughing but he was running over to her. "I'm sorry. But I couldn't resist. And it was really fun-" His sentence was cut off when scar grabbed her water bottle and sprayed the entire thing on his head. It was her turn to laugh. Jesse stopped spitting out water and grinned at her while he picked up his own water bottle and said "It's so on."

By the time all the water was gone, both of them were soaked from head to toe and they were both laughing so hard they could barely breathe. They both sat own on the log while they caught their breath. They had been spraying each other with water for what seemed like 5 minutes but was really about an hour. They had kept on getting more water from the river.

"Okay. I will admit; that was pretty fun." Scarlett said running her hand through her hair, which has fallen loose.

"Yeah I know right," Jesse said and reached over to wrap his arm around her shoulders so he could take his other hand, curl it into a fist and gave her a noogie. Scar laughed and pushed him off. This was so weird. She wasn't used to bonding with someone so quickly but she felt surprisingly clam around Jesse, despite her fromer feelings for the guy. It was odd and she wished that it wasn't true because letting people in was never a good thing. But for now, she'd just have fun. She'd come to her senses soon. Besides, maybe he wasn't so bad.

Once they had both calmed down Jesse nudged her with his arm and said, as if he had read her mind, "See. I'm not as bad as you think I am."

"Nope your still pretty bad." Scar joked. "But yeah. Your alright. I guess." They smiled at each other. Scarlett looked down and saw that they need to get back before it was too late. Her mom would start to worry. When she told Jesse, his smile faded. "Sorry. But we gotta go." She said, and shrugged as she stood up.

"Alright." He sighed. He took up the back pack and they both started to walk back to Scarlett's house. After a couple of minutes of walking in silence (Which Scar was surprised at because Jesse liked to talk about everything) Jesse asked "Scar? Do you trust me?"

Scarlett shot him a confused look and asked "What kind of question is that?"

Jesse looked down at the ground and said "Just answer the question."

Scarlett thought about it. She still didn't know if she could trust him. Yeah, they had a really fun time and maybe Scarlett had been wrong about him. But could she trust him? After all he did hang out with the people that she hated. And even though they had talked a lot today, she still didn't know anything about him.

"I don't know." She answer truthfully. "I don't really know you. I've known you for three days and don't know anything about you, really. It takes a while to build trust."

He sighed and said "Yeah. That's true." Then he apparently got an idea because his eyes suddenly lighting up, "How about we play a game?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, pulling her eyebrows together, instantly suspicous.

"Every time I ask you a question, you have to answer truthfully and then you get to ask one question about me. Deal?"

Scarlett thought about it. It would be nice to know something about him. But what if he told someone what she said? "It's a deal. But only if everything we say stays between us. Everything I tell you, you have to swear to keep it to yourself. And I'll do the same. Okay?" If he told she could always ruin his life somehow. She had her ways.

Jesse seemed even happier with this so he agreed. "You go first."

Hmm. What did she want to know about Jesse? Then she thought of something that she knew she really needed to know. "Why does everyone stare at you like you're a god?"

Jesse's face darkened and he said "This is already starting to seem like a stupid game."

"You said you would answer. And truthfully. Come on, I swear I won't tell anyone. I just want to know." She shrugged. Jesse looked uncertain. "Please?" she added, trying to soften him up.

Jesse sighed and said "It's the Temptation."

"What does that mean?" Scarlett asked.

"Its my turn." Jesse said, giving her a meaningful look. She sighed but said okay. "Do you play an instrument? You look like the type."

Scarlett grinned at the easy question. She had been expecting something a little more secretive. "Yeah I play Guitar, piano, drums and clarinet."

"You're very talented." He smiled approvingly at her.

"Thanks. Alright back to my other question. What does "the Temptation" mean?"

Jesse lost his smile the second the words were out of her mouth. "Can't you ask a different question?"

"No."

"Fine... How do I explain it... Okay, you know how many people know something or someone is bad or evil but their attracted to whatever it is anyway?"

She thought about it. "Yeah. It's kind of like girls always falling for the bad boy." One of her friends, Ashley, has always liked the "Bad Boy" Type. Scarlett had never got it but a lot of girls apparently did. And even though they weren't really evil, she guessed it counted as the same thing.

"Well that's what that is."

"So your evil?" Which Scarlett didn't get. He didn't seem like the "Evil" type. Bad? Yes. Evil? Well.. not so much.

"In a way." Then Jesse realized his mistake and said "Just for that I get to ask three questions."

"That's not fair! I only asked you two." She argued.

"You broke the rules. Now you have to deal with the consequences." He chuckled when she crossed her arms angrily over her chest. "Why do you carry a knife in your pocket?"

Her head snapped around to his. "How do you know that?" She had not pulled her knife out in front of Jesse all day. So how was it that he knew she had one.

"Your not allowed to ask questions. It's my turn."

Scarlett bit her lip. This certain subject involved her father. But she had to play by the rules. So she took a deep breath and said, "My mom gave it to me after what happened to my father. And after that I always want to be safe. This is just a precaution." When she said "this" she patted the pocket that held her knife.

"What happened to your father?" Jesse asked. Oh, God. Scarlett couldn't talk about this. Not now.

"Please don't make me answer that. Please, Jesse." Even as she said that she knew she was about to cry. She could feel her nose prickling and knew it was turning red and she could already feel her eyes welling up with water.

Jesse put a hand on her arm to stop her from walking ahead. But she didn't turn around. She didn't want to see him. She still didn't know if she could trust him on this. Even though he had sworn, she still wasnt sure. And she had not even talked to Anna about this. She didn't think it was right to tell Jesse.

Jesse came in front of Scarlett and she looked down at the floor so he couldn't see her face. But he put his hand under her chin and made her look him in the eye. She eased out of his hand though. It was a little to intimate.

"I won't make you answer it. Yet. But you have to promise me that when you can trust me, you'll tell me. Promise?"

"I don't know, Jesse. If I tell you this then you'll take pity on me. You'll treat me like a bomb about to go off at any second. Every one does. And I can't take it anymore." She couldn't hold it back any longer and she started to cry. And once she started it was hard to stop. Her father meant everything to her. Thinking about him, even for a second, broke her down.

The next thing she knew, Jesse had his arms around her and he was hugging her and asking her to stop crying. That everything was gonna be okay. The usual stuff. But then he said "I promise I won't treat you like that. I swear. Just promise me that once you know you can trust me, you'll tell me."

Scarlett didn't answer, she just kept her head on his chest for a few more moments. Then she said "Why do you even care if I trust you? You don't know me. You know nothing about me. Why would you care if a complete stranger trusted you?" she sniffled and wanted to move out of his grasp. But he seemed to just hold her tighter.

"You're not a complete stranger. And I care because your different. I want to get to know you. Everything about you. You're the first person I've ever met who is able to resist me. At first it was so weird and shocking. Then I realized what a relief it was to be treated like normal. Your like a gift."

"You know I have no idea what that means right?" but when he said she was like a gift to him she blushed but didn't know why. It was all very strange to her.

Jesse laughed and said "I know." Then he pulled her away and wiped away her tears. "Let's get you home."

Scarlett nodded and then they started again on the long walk they had back to her house. On the way there she was stuck thinking about what Jesse meant by the Temptation, why she was able to resist it, and why he seemed to care so much.

She was more confused then when they had started tha stupid game.

When they had come back to Scarlett's house, it was almost 7:00 and Scars mom was already home making dinner. When she heard the back door open she said, "Hi honey! Did you have fun on your little adventure? You didn't get hurt I hope." Then when Jesse and Scarlett came around into the kitchen, her mom seemed to forget about what she had said and stared at Jesse for a second or two before shaking herself and asking "Hello. Who's this?" She smiled politely at Jesse.

"Hello, Mrs. Philips. My name is Jesse. Scar invited me on the hike today." He put one of his charming smiles on his face and directed it to her mom. Scar had raised her eyebrows on the word "Invited". Jesse saw and chuckled a little under his breath.

"Oh. Well would you like to stay for dinner? I can make enough for three."

"Sure. I'd loved to." Jesse answered. Scar looked at him incredulously. She had not expected him to say yes. Nor did she really want to. Just because she didn't hate him anymore, didn't mean she wanted him here for dinner. Especially since what he had said in the woods. She had thought it better if they didn't spend a lot of time together anymore. She was beginning to think Jesse was getting way to attached to her to fast. Even though she didn't mind it a whole lot, she still didn't know him so she was gonna try to keep her distance for a little while. But her mom just had to made that impossible.

"Lovely. Dinner will be done in about a half an hour. So Scarlett why don't you and our guest go do something to occupy yourselves?"

"Sure mom." Scar grumbled in response. "Come on, Jesse."

Scarlett's mom probably didn't even really want Jesse over. But she wasn't anything if not polite. She had to be nice. And Scarlett was the one who had to occupy Jesse for her mom's inability to be a little rude and say "Well Scarlett, dinner's almost done. Why don't you say goodbye to your friend at the door?" That would have been so much easier and simpler. At least in Scarlett's mind.

"Your mom seems nice." Jesse said as Scar led him up to her room.

"She is." Was all she felt like saying. When they came into Scarlett's bedroom Scar pointed to the bathroom and said to Jesse "You can wash up in there before dinner."

Jesse nodded and walked into the bathroom. Scarlett sat down on the bed and took off her shoes. She didn't know what to do now. She could just sit here and wait for Jesse to come back out so she could take her turn in the bathroom. But she was restless. She still was thinking about all the things Jesse had said in the forest. And she thought that if she kept on thinking about it all then her head would explode. Because none of what he had said made any sense what so ever.

So instead of hurting her head by thinking, she decided to play guitar. To get her mind off it all. She did this a lot when she got angry or upset or just when she had a bad day. When she wasn't in the woods she was playing guitar or reading. Playing guitar helped her calm down. She didn't really know why. All she knew was that it worked. So that's what she decided to do. She liked to put herself into the music and forget all about the things happening in the world around her. To just think of the music and only that. She was pretty good at guitar. She had always been a quick learner so when she learned guitar it had come surprisingly easy to her. When she learned a new song or she just came up with something right off the bat, it was so easy to understand it. Playing guitar was like second nature to Scarlett.

And that's what she had done when Jesse came out of the bathroom. He had come out and when he saw Scarlett playing he had stopped moving. He didn't want to bother her. She seemed so happy when she was playing. She had her eyes closed and a small smile was playing on her lips. He watched her silently. He didn't want to disturb her but he also didn't wanna leave. For some reason he liked listening and watching her play. It was nice.

Then Scarlett opened her eyes and looked over at Jesse as if she had felt him watching her.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you stop. I just..." He stopped with that sentence and instead said "Your really good."

"Thanks." Scar mumbled. She was blushing. Not many people had heard her play before. When she played she was usually alone. She was actually really flattered that he said she was good. It was nice to hear it from someone other than her mother, who is supposed to say things like that to her so she doesn't really know if it's the truth all the time. So it was nice to hear it from someone who seemed like he actually meant it. "Um.. so are you done in the bathroom?" she asked while putting the guitar back in its stand next to her other guitar, that one being electric.

"Oh, yeah. It's all yours," He stepped aside to let Scarlett walk past him and into the bathroom to wash up.

Jesse stood in Scar's room and looked around. It seemed like an ordinary teenage girl room. She had two guitars in stands in the corner of the room. One acoustic, one electric. She had a laptop with an iPod sitting on its dock next to the desk she had. She had a radio on her dresser with pictures of her friends and her parents. She had a lot of shelves holding a lot of books. Jesse didn't know she liked books so much. But from the looks of things she read, a lot.

Jesse had sat on the bed and was looking around the room but now he walked over to the dresser that held all the pictures of her friends and family. She had many pictures of her and Anna. She had other friends in some of the pictures but mostly Anna was the one in them. They ranged in age. Some of them looked like they were taken when Scarlett was 5 or 6. Then the pictures got higher in age because Jesse could see how each year left Scar looking less childish and more like a teenager. Then he saw a picture that held a man in it. Scarlett looked like she was 12 or 13 in the picture. She was sitting in front of a small cottage (Jesse guessed this was the one her father had made her.) and behind her was a man in his thirties. He looked strong and he had a tool belt on his waist. He was standing right behind Scarlett and he held his arms open and a big smile was on his face like he had just accomplished something and he wanted everyone to see it. Scarlett was sitting crossed legged with an even bigger smile on her face then her dad. She looked so sweet in the picture. Like nothing could bother her.

Jesse had picked up the picture so he could get a better look at it and he had not even noticed Scarlett come up behind him. She had come out of the bathroom and saw Jesse looking at her pictures. When he had held up the one with her dad in it she had begun to walk over to him. When she was right next to him was the only time Jesse noticed she had been there.

"Sorry. I was just looking." Jesse apologized.

"It's okay." Scarlett took the photo from him and said "That's my dad. My mom had taken this picture when he had finished building my house." Scarlett smiled down at the picture with her father whom anyone could tell she had obviously loved.

"You seem like you really loved him." Jesse didn't know what else to say.

Scar looked up at him and said "Yeah. I really do," Then to keep from crying for the third time today she smiled at him and placed the picture back on the dresser. "Come on. My mom is probably done with dinner." Scarlett started to walk out the door without waiting for a response from Jesse.


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, Scar walked Jesse to the door, after he thanked her mother for dinner. Jesse stepped out but he didn't leave.

"Thank you. For hanging out with me today. Did I change your opinion of me?" Jesse asked with a smile.

Scar laughed and said "You might have changed it a bit." Then she lost her smile and said "Sorry. For getting the wrong impression of you. I just figured that since you hung out with the popular kids that you were one of them. And trust me, in our school there is no such thing as a nice popular."

Jesse shrugged. "It's fine. I'm just glad I got you to like me while I still had a chance."

"Whoa. Who said I liked you?" Scar joked.

"Denial. So sad." Scarlett playfully punched him on the shoulder and he laughed.

"See you later Jesse." She said.

"Bye, Scarlett."

Scarlett was just about to close the door when she thought of something. "Wait-Jesse." Jesse stopped and turned around and raised his eyes brows in a questionable way. "Are you ever going to tell me about this whole Temptation thing and what it means?" Scarlett had not forgotten about what he had told her in the woods. She had thought of that the most and what it could mean. But so far she had nothing that was a good enough explanation for what he had said.

Jesse sighed and looked down at the ground, avoiding her eyes. "Maybe. I'm still deciding if I can tell you or not."

Scar understood what he felt. Sort of. She didn't know if she could tell him about her dad. So she just nodded and said "Okay. I understand."

Jesse looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, Scar. See you in school." Scar nodded and closed the door behind him.

The next day Scar was laying down in bed and talking to Anna on her cell. Anna had called her so she could find out about Scar's day with Jesse. She said she needed to know everything that had happened. So Scar told her. Well. Not Everything. She didn't mention the game they played or about anything Jesse had said about him self. She also didn't mention how many times Jesse had brought up her father. When Scar had woken up today she started to wonder why it was that Jesse had been so interested in the subject of her father. But she didn't think about it too much. She didn't really want to.

"Wow. He must be really in to you then."

"What?" Scarlett asked incredulous

"Jesse. He must really like you if he did all that."

Scarlett laughed and said "Jesse so does not like me." She hoped.

"He so does! Did you not listen to that story? He likes you. That's why he wanted to spend so much time with you, dummy."

"Or it's for the reason he said. That he didn't want me to get the wrong impression of him."

"Oh, please. He just said that so he had a reason to spend time with you."

"Or he could have just wanted to be my friend. Did that ever cross your genius mind?"

"Do you seriously believe that? I mean, come on. He said he wanted to know everything about you. Why would a friend ask that?"

"I don't know. But it also doesn't even make any sense. Have you seen Jesse? He's not exactly average looking. So a guy like that would want to go out with someone like Shelby or Brittney. Not someone like me. Come on. Why would he like me and not them?"

"Your awesome and their not!" Anna laughed.

But Scarlett was actually considering about what Anna was saying and it kind of made sense. In a way. Why else would he have wanted to spend that much time with her and know all that about her. But she didn't want to admit that so she told Anna "Well it doesn't matter if he does or not because I'm not doing that again. It was a one time thing. And I bet you that tomorrow at school he's going to act like yesterday never even happened. He's going to sit at the popular table in between Britney and Shelby."

"Well I bet he's going to come right up to you in home room and sit with you at lunch."

"Ten bucks?"

"Your on."

Scarlett hung up on Anna and started reading her book again. It was already two o clock in the afternoon on a Sunday and Scarlett had nothing to do. She didn't feel like going out in the woods, or playing guitar. She had read her book all morning except for when she had talked to Anna, so she didn't feel like reading any longer. She needed to get out and do something. Anything, really.

It was just when she was thinking this that her phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was Brad. She picked it up and said hello.

"Hey, Scar. You feel like doing something today?" He asked

"Yeah, Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"I figured we could all hit the beach. You, me, Anna, and Will. And anyone else they want to bring. I figure we can have a sort of beach party."

Will was Brad's best friend besides Anna and Scar. He parents were kind of rich so they owned a beach house on a private beach so no unwanted visitors, other than the other people who own beach houses. But they were either still at work or doing something else, then going to the beach. So Scar, after checking with her mom, agreed and he told her he would pick her up in an hour.

An hour later Scar had her school bag emptied of school things and now held everything she needed for the beach. Sunglasses, beach towel, sun block, a hat, and she brought her iPod and dock so they had music. Brad had called a little while ago saying they needed it. And she also brought her wallet if she got hungry at the beach. But she had also eaten a little at home so she wouldn't need to because beach food could get really pricy. But she never knew if she might need it.

Scarlett had on her tie dye bikini under her white tank top and a pair of shorts that had guitars covering them. She had just heard the honk outside that signified Brad's arrival. She made sure she had her cell phone (if her mom called.) and everything she needed then headed out the door. She was greeted by Will, Brad and Anna when she hopped in the back seat of the car with Will.

"So who all is coming?" Scarlett asked leaning forward so she could talk to Brad.

"I don't know. I asked all of my friends and Anna and Will asked all of theirs. And they told them they could bring anybody they wanted."

"So basically you invited everyone in our grade to come?" Scar laughed. Brad chuckled and said yeah. "Okay then. This should be fun."

When they had gotten to the beach it turned out that everyone in their grade had come, even though Scar had only been kidding at the time. Everyone was all at the beach and more people were coming. They had all gone to one spot on the beach, near the volley ball court. And apparently they had waited for Brad because he was the one that came up with the idea of a party at the beach. So he yelled at everyone to "let the beach party begin" And when he said it, Scar had plugged in her dock over by the shack that sold food and blasted her music. Everyone cheered and started putting down beach towels or started dancing to the music being played or just headed straight to the water.

Scar had to hop up on the counter at the shack to plug-in the iPod and when she had, she saw that everyone had come to their beach party. Everyone. Shelby was in the middle of the gigantic crowd over by the volley ball court and she was dancing with none other than Jesse. She was laughing at something he had said apparently and he was smiling down at her. He had his hands on her hips and her hands were sliding up and down his arms seductively. Every now and then the people around Jesse would turn around and stare at him. But then they would look away quickly before they began staring too much. Not Shelby. She kept looked up at him, never breaking eye contact. For some reason Scar had a flash of anger ignite in her. _So_. She thought. _Jesse was like everyone else._ He had played her. He had tried to make her trust him and now she was being shown just how stupid she was. She couldn't believe it. No. She could. She knew this would happen. But for some stupid reason she had let it happen anyway. Gosh. He was ridiculous.

Scar jumped down from the counter and walked over to Anna and Brad who were talking not that far from Jesse but who didn't seem to notice him.

She came up to Anna. "You owe me ten dollars." Scar said above the noise.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

And in answer Scar pointed to Jesse and Shelby in the crowd. "Is that enough proof for you that he doesn't like me?" Scar asked Anna who was staring open-mouthed at Jesse. Scarlett didn't wait for an answer. Instead she found a spot to lay down her towel and did just that. Then she took off her shirt and shorts and started heading towards the water. She had put her wallet and cell phone behind the counter of the shack so no one could take them. And since she knew the guy that was working the counter, he didn't mind.

Scar went into the water and kept going until she could go completely under. Then she started swimming. She didn't really know how far she had gone but it couldn't have been that far. So once she was far enough out that nobody was going to mess with her, she started floating. She let the gentle waves hit her as she stared up at the sky, thinking. It was hard to believe. That Jesse would do that. Apparently he was really good at playing people because even Scarlett had begun to think he was for real. She wasn't as mad at him as she was at herself. She had known exactly what kind of guy Jesse was and yet she didn't believe it. She had let herself believe he was actually a nice guy and then he did that. And, as always, the girl got the worst hit of the things. These kind of things didn't hurt guys as much as girls. She was still mad at Jesse though. Even though she was more mad at herself that didn't let Jesse off the hook. Not by a long shot.

After about ten minutes of floating, she had thought about it enough that she began to realize that Jesse knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted her to get mad at him. Because that would mean that he had won. But she would not give him that satisfaction. She would play it cool and not seem mad. She would go as far as pretending he didn't even exist and erasing him from her memory. That way, it would get him out of her mind, and it would prevent him from winning in his sick little game that so many guys decided to play on helpless little girls. Lucky for Scarlett that she wasnt as helpless as he seemed to make her out to be.

Once Scar had this realization she started swimming back out to the shore. Apparently she had gone pretty far out because it took a while for her to get out of the water. When shegot out, she walked over to her towel and put her shorts on. She didn't put on her shirt though because she didn't want to get it wet. Then she found Anna coming towards her. When she got near enough to speak she said "I am so sorry, Scar. I really thought he liked you and that -"

"It's fine, A." Scar laughed. "I don't care. It's not like he knows anything about me and I won't let him play me again. So everything is cool. Let's go make the guys dance." Scar said grabbing Anna's hand preventing her from speaking about Jesse. Though from the way she resisted the tug on Scar's arm and the way she seemed to want to say something, it was obvious she wanted to do just that. But that was one of the advantage's of being stronger than her. She could pull her away without having to really try. Poor Anna. So weak.

When Scarlett reached the crowd of people dancing, she saw Brad and Will talking to each other in the crowd. Scar went over to them and gave Anna to Will and she took Brad's hand. They protested but with the persuasion of both Anna and Scar (Anna had apparently come to the realization that Jesse was to not be spoken in front of her for a very long time.) they eventually gave in. So, they danced. Brad and Scar, Will and Anna. The two couple's were dancing right next to each other so they could talk and laugh and dance at the same time. And Scar began to just enjoy the time she had with her friends and not even think about Jesse. She joked, she laughed and she danced with Brad for a good amount of time.

She had fully forgotten Jesse and she refused to even think about him and open up the anger she was keeping hidden from her friends. That is, until Jesse came up to Brad and asked if he could take his place. Brad had his hands on Scarlett's hips but it wasnt in an intimate way. He had meant it playfully. But by the look on Jesse's face, she knew he wouldn't mean it playfully.

"No." Scar said at the same time Brad shrugged and said "Sure" And let go of Scarlett. Jesse said thanks and stood in front of Scarlett and was reaching out to garb her hips the way Brad had. But before he could touch her she slapped his hands away from her. "I don't dance with strangers," Scarlett said with as much malice as she could put into her words. She had started walking away but Jesse didn't let her. When she turned around, he grabbed her wrist and spun her back around to face him and then he pressed his body to hers and held her waist so she couldn't move. Scarlett said "Get the heck off of me!" and started to push him away. The music was to loud for anyone to hear her. And there were so many people around them that no one noticed her. Her friends had walked away to the snack bar to get a drink before dancing again. Little did they know, Scarlett wasnt having as much fun as them now. In fact, her day had just gone completely sour because of Jesse.

Jesse leaned down to her ear and said "You don't really want to start a scene do you?" And When Scar just kept pushing him he said "I would hate for someone to get hurt because you didn't want to dance with me." His breath was hot on her ear and she stopped moving. Hurt someone? He couldn't mean that... Could he? He was playing with her. But she wouldn't put it past him to hurt someone. He was more than capable and there was every possibility that he would... Maybe he was as evil as he said he was. Scarlett had already decided that there was something off about him. And she didn't know him. Maybe he really was physco.

"There. That's better. Now, act like you want to dance with me and act like your having fun." His mouth was still near her ear and his hands still on her hips. So, she did what he asked. She was going to do what he said. For now. Just until she could find a way out.

She put her hands on his forearm and leaned into him. "Good." Jesse said leaning away from her ear just a little so he could see her face. Their faces were only a bit apart and to anyone standing around it might seem like they were kissing. Scar didn't let the fear or anger that she was feeling show on her face. She knew if she did he wouldn't like it. "See. now isn't this fun?" He asked her, putting his forehead on hers. Crazy psychotic weirdo.

"No." She whispered it and her voice cracked on that one word. Maybe she wasnt doing as good a job as she hoped at hiding her fear.

"Oh, come on. I'm having a lot of fun." He smiled his mischievous smile.

Scarlett closed her eyes and didn't reply. Jesse sighed and leaned away from her and took his hands off her hips. But only so he could take her hand. "Well. If you're not having fun here, maybe we should go somewhere else. And I know the perfect place. Follow me."

It's not like she could not follow him. His grip on her wrist was un breakable.

He led her away from everyone that had come to the party and he kept on going. There were a couple big rocks that started on the sand and went all the way down to the water. Jesse led her over them and on the other side of them. There was no body there. Not one single person was on this side of the beach. It would have been nice but considering the fact that Scarlett was scared out of her wits, it wasn't all that nice to her. It was also worse because nobody on the other side of the rocks would be able to see her. Jesse pulled her over to the rocks and put her back to it. He leaned in to her so they were just as close as before. "There. This is so much nicer than before don't you think?" He reached up and put a strand of her hair behind her ear but kept his hand on her cheek.

"I don't think I would call this nice since I'm being pressed up against a bunch of rocks by some psycho who threatens me because I wont f-ing dance with him!" She put as much of her anger into the words. She didn't really need to hide her emotions now. If he hit her, she would hit back. She might lose the fight but at least she went down fighting.

Jesse only laughed and said "Did you really think I would hurt someone just cause you wouldn't dance with me? Come on. I'm not that crazy. I just... wanted to talk to you."

Scarlett leaned her head back against the rocks and groaned. Of course. He was even more of a psycho then she thought he was. "Your crazy! If you wanted to talk to me would it have been so hard to just ask me? God. You didn't have to scare the crap out of me and make me believe you, you jerk."

Jesse didn't look that offended. "I'm sorry." With the smile on his face though, it was hard to believe that he meant it. "I just figured you would be mad at me and you wouldn't give me the time of day. I didn't mean to scare you. I just really wanted to see you."

Scarlett closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was not going to fall for his tricks again. This was all a lie. And she was not going to give him the satisfaction of him winning her over again. Even while she was telling herself not to fall for his game again, Jesse's hand was still on her cheek and he was moving his thumb across it. Scar didn't push him away though. She didn't know exactly why but some how it felt good. Okay, She thought. I've now officially gone nuts. "Look, Jesse. Even though I was mad at you- and yes I am still very mad at you even more so now than before because of what you did- if you would have asked nicely I probably would have talked to you if you wanted me to. You really did not have to go through all of this." She tried to say it as nicely as she could but she was still angry at him. And now that she wasn't scared she realized that she didn't have a shirt on and only a bikini top, so she got even more angry. And embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." Jesse said again. This time he let go of her and walked away. He went over to the water and sat down in front of it. He flopped back on the sand and looked up at the sky, the sun glinting off of his sharp features. Now, this would have been the perfect time for Scarlett to just leave. But she couldn't. She had to hear what he had to say. She told herself that whatever he said, it wouldn't matter, she would still leave. She was just curious.. thats all.

Scar sighed at her natural born curiousity and walked over to Jesse, sitting down beside him. He looked over at her and, with his smile gone and sincierity in his eyes, said "I really am sorry. It's just... I had so much fun yesterday. And when I heard that your friend was having a party, I knew you'd be here. Then Shelby came up and started dancing with me and I didn't want to be rude so I danced with her. Then I saw you. You had seen me dancing with her and you seemed really mad. And hurt. So I just needed to explain to you that I don't like her. I really don't."

While Jesse had been talking Scarlett had looked out at the water and the waves going through it. After a couple of minutes of silence, and a lot of thinking on her part, Scarlett shook her head and said "I'm sorry Jesse. I wish I could believe you. But I can't." Then she stood up and walked over to the rocks where she climbed up and over. But not before stealing one last glance at Jesse. He seemed... emotionless. Like he was just a staute, no feelings, no facial expressions... it was a little strange but Scarlett didn't let herself dwell on it. She knew the things he did and she was not going to put herself through it again. Unless he proved to her that he was telling the truth, then she wasn't going to believe anything he said.


	6. Chapter 6

After the thing with Jesse, Scarlett had gone home. She had gotten a ride from one of the partiers who was leaving early after she had asked Anna to give her her iPod and dock tomorrow at school. When she got home, she took a long hot shower to get all the salt water off of her. Then, even though it was only six in the afternoon, Scar got in to her pj's (a baggy long sleeve shirt that was long enough to cover everything but still really super short) and climbed in bed.

She had thought of Jesse almost all day now. She couldn't get him out of her head. And it sucked. It was like he was imprinted in her brain and there was nothing she could do about it.

Scarlett stayed in bed the rest of the day. She had not gotten a lot of sleep last night, the result of thinking too much, so she decided to go to sleep early. It was nine o clock when she woke up. But it wasnt because she wanted to. It was because her mom had woken her up.

"Hi, sweetie. I'm sorry to wake you up. But my work just called and they need me to go out-of-town for a while. Apparently, I need to go to get convince someone a few towns away to sign with us. And they said that since I'm the one of the better ones in the business that I was selected to go. It's to far away for me to come home at the end of the day, so I'll be gone for quite a while." Her mother looked just as sad about the news as Scar felt about it.

Scarlett rubbed at her eyes and when the words her mom said finally registered with her, all she could think to say was "Oh." Scarlett loved her mom and she didn't feel all that comfortable when she left. They talked about everything. Anything that most kids would feel uncomfortable to talk about with their parents, Scar didn't mind. Her mom and her had always been close. Not as close as her and her dad though. But she couldn't help that now. But even though she didn't want her to go, it was her job. She had to do this to put the food on the table every night. So, all she did was smile a sad smile so her mom knew that she wanted her to stay but that she knew she couldn't and said "Okay. When will you be back?"

"As long as it takes to get him to agree. I'll call every night and morning ok?" She kissed Scarlett's head and they said their goodbyes. It took a couple of minutes for her mom to leave. Neither of them wanted her to go. They counted on each other. When one was upset or wanted to talk, they were always there. Other than Anna, Scar's mom was the only one to really understand her.

Once her mother was gone, Scarlett waited a couple of minutes and finally realized she wasn't going back to bed any time soon, so she stretched and got up. Once she did, the home phone down stairs started ringing. Scar ran down the stairs so she could catch it before the last ring. When she answered it, she heard Anna on the other line.

"Dude! Did you hear?" she said before Scar got the phone all the way to her ear. Luckily she yelled loud enough to be heard anyway.

"What?" Scar asked sitting down on the couch, leaning her head against the back.

"There's not going to be any school tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Scarlett was one of the few who like school. Well. Not really like school, but liked learning. She didn't really like going to school. She was a morning person and all, but school took it a little to far.

"Well apparently the school got like a minor flood." Anna said way to happily.

"Oh my gosh. How did that happen?" Scar asked, more concerned than Anna seemed to be. Unlike Scar, Anna hated school. All of it.

Anna was just about to explain when Scarlett heard yelling voices in the background. She couldn't tell what they were screaming about but it didn't sound good at all.

"Are your parents fighting again?" Scar asked sadly.

"Yeah," Anna sighed. "They have done it so much lately and I think if I hear another scream coming from them then I just might scream myself. This is only a little one but it still counts. Hang on, let me go outside."

"Okay."

Scar felt bad for Anna. Sometimes her parents were nice and they seemed like they really loved each other. But other times, usually behind closed doors, all they did was fight. And Anna always had to be caught in the middle of it, if she was around.

"Alright. I'm outside."

"Okay." Then Scarlett thought of something that could help both of them out. "Hey! Why don't you spend the night at my place? My mom left town for work so I'm lonely and... Well, with your mom and dad fighting I figured you wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle again, right?"

"Yeah, true. Thanks Scar! I'll be over in a half an hour."

Anna hung up and Scarlett started to clean up. Her house wasn't messy but it helped to clean it a little. Even though Anna had seen it at its worse but still.

A little while later Scar heard Anna knock on the door. When she answered it, Anna was standing there with a bag slung over her shoulder. But she also had tears in her eyes. Apparently the fight with her parents hadn't been as minor as Anna had put off.

"Anna. Whats wrong?" Scarlett said. Even though she already knew it was because of Anna's parents. She closed the door behind her and led her to the couch where they sat down.

"They fight over the stupidest things. It's like they're picking fights with each other just so they each can say they won one. Then after a little while of fighting, they make up. But their not doing that this time. They just kept going at it and... Scarlett I don't know what to do." Anna sobbed. Scarlett hugged Anna and tried to calm her down and told her everything was going to be alright. The normal things to say when someone was breaking down. Scarlett wasnt good with comforting people. But she at least knew how to do that.

"Hey." Scar said lifting Anna's face. "Tonight we aren't going to think about all of this. Okay? We are going to make some ice cream, lay down on the floor, and watch whatever movie you want. Tonight is about fun time." Scarlett smiled and Anna laughed (it was faint but it still counted as a laugh and Scar would take it) and agreed to the "Fun time" Scar had refered to. Anna had brought over Scarlett's iPod, so she plugged it in and started blasting out music. Scarlett started to dance to it and Anna laughed at her. Soon, Scarlett made Anna get up off the couch and they were both dancing, and laughing, and trying to forget everything wrong with their lives at the moment.

Sometimes having someone around who just understood what was going on just made everything easier to deal with.

Scarlett was trying to keep Anna's mind off of anything bad and she was doing a good job of it. Anna had completely forgot about all of it. For now, at least. They had just started a mini pillow fight when Scarlett heard the door bell ring.

She turned down the music and said to Anna, "Why don't you go get your pajamas on while I get that and when we get back we'll watch a movie?"

"Cool." Anna said, picking up her bag and going upstairs to Scar's room to change.

Scarlett turned off the music and walked over to the door. When she opened it up she stared at who she was looking at, not really able to form any words at the moment.

"Hey." Jesse said with a small smile that didn't really reach his eyes.

She realized she was staring at him and shook herself. "Um, hi. What are you doing here?" Scarlett asked while she tried to pull her shirt down so it covered better. It didn't work to well.

"Can't I come in?"

"Uh-" Scarlett bit her lip and looked behind her. "I guess?" She said it as a question.

"Thanks." Jesse said and slipped in to her house before she could change her mind or give it much thought.

Scarlett wasn't to comfortable with him walking into her house, but she didn't really know what else to do. She could have said no. But it was really cold outside and she had already been really mean to him today. Even though she had every right to be mean to him, she still would feel bad about doing it again. Especially after he said sorry and seemed to be sincere.

Jesse walked over to the living room where Scar and Anna had played and he smiled back at Scar and asked a question with his eyes, having seen the mess.

"Me and Anna were playing." She said keeping her eyes on the floor while she felt a blush start to creep across her face. Maybe inviting him in wasnt the best idea after all.

Jesse laughed and said "Wow."

"What are you doing here anyways?" Scar asked sharply.

Jesse stopped laughing and looked at Scarlett who now had her arms crossed over her chest defensively. She did not feel like being teased by him right now. She had been nice and let him in but that was as far as it went. She didn't have to be nice to him now. It was her house.

"You forgot these-" He lifted out her wallet and cell from his pocket. "- at the beach."

Scarlett stared at her belongings and then sighed. Okay, well just because he was being nice now didn't mean she had to forgive him. But since she was in the wrong to get mad at him for trying to give her stuff back, she said "I'm sorry." She unfolded her arms. "Thank you for giving me back my things." He handed them to her and told her it was no big deal. Then they just stood like that. Scarlett looked around the house like she was trying to find something to say and Jesse looked at Scarlett like he was wiling her to say something. The only problem was that she didn't know what to say. She didn't have to be mean to him anymore because he counteracted the feeling when he had tried to be nice. But at the same time she couldn't be all cheery with him because she wasnt about to pretend that today hadn't even happened at all.

Then Anna saved them by walked in the living room and starting to say "So who was at the door?" but stopped when she saw Jesse. He smiled at her and she blushed and kept looking at him. A full minute went by and Anna stayed like that. Finally Scarlett went over and shook her. And not to lightly. "Hey!" Anna yelled. Jesse put his lips together and tried not to laugh.

"Sorry but you have got to stop that." Scar said.

Anna smiled sheepishly. Then said "So are you staying to watch the movie with us?"

"No!" Scar said to quickly. Then to get away from both people staring at her, she took Anna's arm and lead her to the kitchen and said "We'll be right back." to Jesse. In fact, it was more of a grumble so she wasnt quite sure if he had heard.

Once in the kitchen, Scar turned on Anna. "Why did you do that?" She hissed.

"I was being polite. Come on Scar. It's just a movie. We'll watch it, then he'll leave. No harm done. It's not like he would try anything while I'm here. Please, Scar. Please." She folded her hands and begged Scarlett. Scarlett silently cursed that stupid temptation Jesse talked about that was apparently making Anna like this.

"No. I don't want that freak show in my house. Especially at night!"

Anna laughed at Scarlett and said "The night has nothing to do with it. You just don't want him here because your afraid you might actually like it."

Scar glared at Anna and said "No, I'm really not. I don't want him here because he's a freak who threatened to hurt someone just because he wanted me to dance with him!"

"He was probably only kidding." Scar found it infuriating that Anna didn't even pause in her argument, even after Scarlett had told her what he had done today at the beach. "And you should take it as a compliment. He wanted to dance with you. That's a good thing."

"No it's not! Not when he threatens other people!"

"Again - He was probably only kidding. He doesn't seem like the type to really hurt someone. Just cause he has the body for it doesn't mean that he will actually do it."

Scarlett stared at Anna wide-eyed. "Your just as crazy as him!" was all she said, throwing her hands in the air.

All Anna did was laugh. "Scarlett, come on. Be real. He's not going to do anything and you know it. Even if you think he wasn't kidding on the beach, I think he was. And I'm always right." Scarlett would have disagreed with that statement except for the fact that it was kind of true. Anna, for some reason, was right almost all the time. "So, I see no harm in asking him to stay and watch the movie with us. Once it's over, he'll pack up and leave. Nothing will happen. And if you're so worried that something will-" Anna lowered her voice-"You have a pocket knife right? Even though I don't agree with it, you can bring it out if you think he's being to... unreasonable. And no, that does not mean that you can just bring it out if he does something minor. It has to be something big and if it isn't, don't even think about grabbing it. We'll keep it in here so you can get it when you need it. Okay?"

Scarlett did not like this plan. There were to many things she didn't agree with. The major one being that Jesse was staying. Scarlett looked down at the floor and crossed her arms. She didn't agree nor disagree with Anna's plan. She didn't really have a reason to say no. And Anna wouldn't take that for an answer anyway. Anna thought that everything was worked out and if she did, then she would keep on at it until Scarlett broke down and agreed. Might as well get it over with early. "Fine." She grumbled. She was hoping Anna wouldn't hear her but with the quiet that had been in the kitchen and the fact that Anna was looking for an answer, even if Scarlett said it as low as a mouse, Anna would have heard her.

"Yes!" Anna said. Then she ran out to tell Jesse. Scarlett tipped her head, groaned, and then reluctantly followed Anna.

Jesse was smiling the biggest smile Scarlett had ever seen on him. "Thanks for inviting me to stay." He told her. She mumbled something unrecognizable in reply.

"Scar, why don't you go get the ice cream while I pick out a movie." Anna said while never taking her eyes off of Jesse. Scar rolled her eyes and did what she was asked, even though it was her house and anna was telling her what to do. When she came back with three bowls full of cookies and cream ice cream she saw that Anna and Jesse were on the couch and Jesse was trying to move away from Anna, who kept trying to get closer to him. Scar chuckled when Jesse mouthed the word 'help' to her. She mouthed the word 'no' back. He smiled at her. She realized what she was doing, and she didn't smile back.

"Alright!" Scar said loud enough to get Anna's attention. "Jesse do you mind going in my room and getting my blanket?"

"Not at all." He said and got away from Anna way to quickly that even she noticed.

Scarlett wasn't to sure that letting him up there alone was a good idea but it was too late to change her mind. She laid down the three bowls of ice cream on the glass table in between the couch and television. Scarlett sat down in front of her bowl and gave Anna hers. When Jesse came back, Scarlett thanked him for the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders and then asked Anna what they were going to watch.

Anna smiled, a glint in her eye, and said "Nightmare On Elm Street."

Scarlett almost choked on her ice cream. "What?" She squeaked.

"Nightmare on Elm Street. You said it was my choice." Anna said smugly.

Scarlett gulped and it was obvious that she did not like Anna's choice. Then Jesse asked "What? What is so wrong with that movie?"

"Nothing."Anna said. "Just that Scar hates Scary movies. Last time she saw one she slept in her moms room for a week because she was scared to be alone. This was three months ago."

Jesse looked over at Scarlett and saw that her entire face was tomato red and she was spinning her ice cream around with her spoon.

"Well then can't we watch a different movie?" Jesse asked looking back at Anna.

"No. Scarlett has to get over her crazy fears." Anna said and playfully pushed Scar while she said it.

Scarlett said nothing and when she did it was "I need to go get a drink." Scarlett left the room. When she was in the kitchen she hopped up on the counter and leaned her head back against the cabinet's doors. She was taking deep breaths and telling herself that it was only a movie and she had nothing to worry about. The only problem was that.. she was way to scared. She couldnt watch innocent people get hurt and die on such horrible terms. She knew they were only movies but that didn't stop her from thinking about how it could happen in real life. How it could happen to her. How it could happen to someone she loved.

She was still thinking these horrible thoughts when she felt a hand drop on her knee. She jumped up and yelped. When she did, she hit her head on the cabinet and brought both hands up to where her head was now hurting.

"I am so sorry!" Jesse said. He was the one that had put his hand on her knee.

"Its fine." She said through gritted teeth after she realized what was going on. Then she took a couple of breaths and lowered her hands.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's really okay. I'm fine." Then before he could say sorry again she asked "How come you came in here?"

He looked at her and since she was still siting on the counter she didn't have to look up at him like she usually did. "I just came to say that I'm sorry Anna chose a movie you don't like. I tried to talk to her but she kept insisting that you needed to work over your fear. And even I couldn't get her to change her mind, which is saying something."

Scarlett sighed and said "I guess she's right. It's just... I don't know if I can watch it. I can't watch scary movies. Action movies? I love them. They are awesome to me. But scary movies? I just can't do it. Whenever I watch a scary movie I always have to have someone there to watch it with me. Like my mom. Last time I watched a scary movie with her I had to snuggle up with her and cover my eyes." Then, realizing what she had just done, she punched him in the arm and said "If I hear that you told anyone that I will hurt you so bad."

Jesse rubbed his arm and said "Did you have to do it so hard?"

"Yes."

Jesse dropped his hand and said "I won't tell anyone. I promise." Scarlett looked into his eyes and what she saw told her that he was sincere. "Now. If you do need someone next to you I will be happy to sit next to you on the floor so you won't get to scared."

"Yeah, like I'm going to let you do that." she snorted

"This is for your benefit. Not mine. I swear I won't try to make a move or anything."

Scarlett pursed her lips and thought. She didn't like the idea. But she was almost certain that she needed it. Having someone next to her and holding her, no matter who it was, always made her feel safe. And when watching a horror film, that was what she needed most. She still didn't like it but she agreed because she didn't like being alone even more than Jesse being the one to comfort her. And she knew Anna wouldn't do it. She would refuse and say "You need to get over your fears and me being there isn't going to help". Sometimes Anna really irked her.

"Fine." she finally said. Jesse smiled at her and they left the kitchen.

When they came back in the living room Anna was getting the movie ready and eating the last bit of her ice cream. Scarlett and Jesse's ice cream was already starting to melt so they started to eat it before it did. When the movie started Scarlett wrapped herself in the blanket and leaned against the couch with Jesse next to her on the floor and Anna laying on the couch above them.

The movie wasn't all that scary at first. But when it was, Scarlett freaked. She moved closer to Jesse and slipped under his arm so it was around her. She didn't even think about what she was doing. She was to horrified. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and covered her eyes, leaning closer to Jesse.

Scarlett watched the movie, even though she was so scared she was cuddled next to Jesse so much, she was practically sitting on his lap. When the movie was almost halfway over, Anna's cell phone started ringing. Scarlett jumped at the noise but calmed down when she realized what it was. When Anna picked up her phone, Scarlett paused the movie and decided this was a good time to start picking up the bowls from the ice cream. She was just about to when she realized that the kitchen was dark. She started having stupid fantasies about Freddy jumping up behind her and killing her the way he did to that girl in the movie.

Scarlett turned to Jesse and asked "Um... Do you mind coming with me to the kitchen?" Scarlett didn't add the reason for it because she guessed that he already knew it. She was scared. She sounded like a five-year old girl when she talked like this and she expected Jesse to laugh at her silliness. But instead all he did was nod and help her pick up the bowls.

When they walked into the kitchen Jesse went first so Scarlett wouldnt be to scared. But when Scarlett kept looking behind her to see if anyone was there Jesse grabbed her hand and held her close to him. "Look. There isn't anyone here. It's just us."

Scarlett nodded and tried to believe it. But she was still scared so she squeezed his hand.

They put the bowls in the sink and Scarlett finally found the light switch, flicking it on to illuminate the kitchen in a grateful glow.

Jesse turned to Scarlett. "I thought you said you didn't trust me?"

"I don't," She replied. She was trying to be calm but every time she saw a shadow in the corner of her eye she would turn to look at it and find it only a figment of her imagination. Everytime she would become calm that would happen.

Jesse raised their hands, Scarlett's still holding tightly onto his. "This begs to differ." Jesse smiled.

"I don't trust you. But I do feel safer with you than by myself. 'Cause lets face it- Your buff. And you seem like the type to scare the crap out of anyone who tries anything with you." She was actually being serious. He was extremely buff and he had that vibe about him that made other people scared to mess with him. He was also about 6'2". A full foot taller than she was. She still didn't trust him but she felt safer with him around. And even though it really made no sense at all, it was the truth.

Scarlett came back into the living room and saw Anna talking on the phone. She was saying something about how she didn't want to come home and get in the middle of all the drama. But Scar didn't like listening in on other people's business, so she and Jesse sat down in their spot on the floor and waited for Anna.

"You know, I could try to persuade Anna to turn the movie off now." Jesse whispered to Scar.

The only problem with that is that Scar had already gotten through half this movie. She wasnt taking it well but at least she was watching it. And she didn't want to back out now. She was going to watch the movie to the end, even if it did scare her into a heart attack. She was determined to watch it and if she set her mind on it, then she would.

When Anna came over to them she seemed angry but like she was trying to control her temper. "I'm sorry, Scar, but my mom and dad said they need to talk to me. So I need to go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow though, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Okay. Be careful on your way home, though." Scarlett wanted to ask what was going on but she could see that Anna was really mad and she hated it when people asked her what was wrong when she was mad. It just made her even more angry.

"I will. Thanks ,Jesse, for watching the movie with us and I'm sorry I have to leave in the middle of it."

"It's fine. I had a fun time before that. " He smiled at her and her anger seemed to lessen for a second when she looked at him.

"I'll walk you to the door." Scarlett said trying to distract Anna from Jesse.

When Anna left, Scarlett came back and saw Jesse start to stand up and grab his jacket. She asked him what he was doing.

"Leaving. I figured now that Anna was gone then you didn't have a reason to put up with me anymore." He seemed kind of depressed because of it and didn't met her eyes as he said it.

"Oh." Scarlett actually didn't want him to leave. She didn't think she could handle watching the rest of the movie alone and then not having anyone there afterwards. Jesse seemed to see this so he asked "Unless... you want me to stay?" he asked hopefully

Scarlett looked at Jesse and asked "Do you mind?" sort of sheepishly.

Jesse smiled and said "Not at all." He seemed a lot happier now that he was staying.

Okay, so Scarlett didn't trust him. And she certainly didn't want to be alone with him. But for some reason she couldn't help but want him to stay. The movie had already scared her and it was all that was on her mind. Everything else had been wiped out. Even the part about Jesse. The only thing that registered with her about him was that he was a human being and he would be there to comfort her. That was all she needed right now.

Jesse sat down on the couch and Scarlett snuggled up to him, more happy than before. The movie hadn't started yet but she knew that when it did she would have to do that so she thought to just start out that way. "Are you sure you want to do this? We could just watch something else. " Jesse said to her.

Scar took a deep breath and said that she wanted to do it. When the movie started, Jesse gave Scarlett a tight squeeze around the shoulders. When he did, she felt a sense of safety around him. And she knew that she would always be safe around him. She didn't have to trust him, but she knew she was safe.

She didn't know how she knew. She just did... like instinct.


	7. Chapter 7

Once the movie was over, Scar was so scared she thought she might cry.

"See it wasn't that bad was it? And you made it through the entire movie! Aren't you proud of yourself?" Jesse was asking her.

It took Scarlett a couple of seconds to process what he was saying. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I guess I am." She said unconvincingly. Jesse just held her tighter to him. But then let go to early. He got up off the couch and Scar reached out and grabbed his hand. "Where are you going?" she said with fear in her voice that he was leaving. What if he went out side to get in his car and some one attacked him? What if-

"The bathroom." Jesse said and slipped out of her hand. He smiled at her and said "I'll be right back. I promise."

Scarlett wrapped herself tighter in the blanket, closed her eyes, took a couple deep breaths then said "Okay."

Scarlett still had her eyes closed so she didn't see Jesse lean down to kiss the top of her head. When he did her eyes came open and she looked up at him with a bit of shock. He just smiled and left the room.

When Scarlett was alone she closed her eyes again and tried to think of anything that would get her mind off of the movie. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and thought of Jesse. That was the first thing that came to her mind. She felt safe around Jesse so she pretended he was sitting right next to her and keeping her safe. Making sure no one could hurt her.

Then she heard something come from the kitchen. She didn't know what it was and it was so low that if the movie had been on or if someone else had been in the room then it wouldn't have been audible. Scarlett got up off the couch and shook off the blanket, walking towards the kitchen.

The only problem with that, was that she felt like that girl in all horror movies. The one that is extremely hot, has barely any clothes on, and is so dumb that she goes towards the strange noises that sound in the dark, other than away from them like a normal person would. But Scarlett knew better. She didn't really think that this was the case. She just figured it was the wind on the screen door. And if it was something else, Scarlett had always been a curious person. If she heard something, she would go find out what it was. Just like she was doing now. She was really trying hard not to let the movie scare her in her own house.

Her kitchen was where the back door was and Scarlett felt uneasy but her curiosity pushed her along. When she got close enough to the kitchen entryway to see inside she heard the backdoor squeak open and what she saw gave her the biggest shock of the night.

A man dressed entirely in black, hiding in the shadows, was standing in the door (for some reason she had a word pass through the back of her mind - Cliche) and was staring at Scarlett who was as white as chalk and unable to move. She couldn't possibly know who it was because of the shadows and the fact that it was dark out and he wore all black clothes. And even if he was wasn't in the dark clothes, she probably wouldn't be able to process who it was anyway. She was in to much of a shock. The man had a gun in his hands. Whoever he was, he was not here on a happy occasion and he certainly wasn't here offer her girl scout cookies. That could be told by the fact that he had just broke into her house and was starting to raise a gun straight towards Scarlett.

She was unable to move until she realized what the man (whoever he was) was about to do. He was going to shoot her. That was stating the obvious and she should have known that from the beginning but she was too dumbfounded to do anything but stare at the moment. It seemed like everything was going in slow motion. When, in reality, the man wasnt raising the gun slowly at all. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god was the only thing going through Scarlett's mind. And when she was actually able to process anything else, what she did think was one word. Run.

And that's what she did. She turned her back and started running. She didn't really know where but she was just trying to get away. But she only got two steps when she heard the gun go off. Luckily the shot had missed her but only by a little. If she had moved a second later, it probably would have hit her. But instead, She heard it shoot past her and it hit the wall making a hole in it. She screamed but kept running and silently thanked the lord that it had missed her. Scarlett had run straight across from the kitchen and when she reached the hallway she heard another gun shot and saw the glass that kept her mothers china in it bust open and saw glass shatter everywhere.

Scarlett Screamed the first name that came to her mind. "Jesse!" She yelled. When she turned the corner in the hallway that held three doors, one to the bathroom and one to the basement and one to the guest room they had, she ran into a solid body. Jesse had just exited the bathroom and had come running when he heard the gun shots. Scarlett had not realized who it was so she screamed again when she ran into him. At least until Jesse reached over and covered her mouth and brought her into the bathroom he had just exited.

Scarlett started sobbing against his chest and he tried to calm her down. It took her a minute to realized that he was telling her to be quiet. It was hard but she stopped crying so loud. The tears kept screaming down her face though. _This isn't happening_. _This_ _isn't happening. This kind of thing only happened in movies! I'm a normal girl with a normal life! I did nothing wrong! So why do I have to be the one to die? Why is it my house that he chooses?_

Jesse bent his knees a little so he was face to face with Scar. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He whispered so low it was hard to hear. Scar didn't trust her voice so she shook her head no to answer both of his questions. She wasnt physically hurt but she was definitely not okay. But After he made sure she was telling the truth, that she didn't get hit, he reached in his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Scarlett. "Call the police. Tell them whats going on and tell them to hurry. I'm going to be right back."

Scar, realizing what he was saying only as he reached for the handle of the door, said "No!" As loudly as she dared. "Jesse, he has a gun. He could kill you!" she had her eyes open and they were as wide as quarters. And the only emotion that was in them was Fear.

Jesse seemed to find this mildly amusing, even with Scar's present state, and she wasn't sure why. "I'll be fine, Scarlett. But do not come out of this bathroom. That is an order. Whatever you hear, you have to stay here. Okay?" Scarlett nodded even though she knew that if she thought Jesse was hurt she would come out. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Just... please promise me you'll be okay?" She started to cry again because she was knew she would blame herself if anything had happened to him-he knew that making him promise wasn't going to do anything. He wouldn't be able to help it if he got shot-After all, she was the one who asked him to stay with her. If anything happened to him, it would be all her fault. And nobody would be able to convince her otherwise.

Jesse looked down at her. He was thinking how someone who seemed so tough on the outside could possibly be so scared. He leaned down and kissed Scarlett lightly on the lips and before she could do anything he said "Promise." Then opened the door and left the bathroom leaving Scarlett all alone.

Scarlett didn't have time to be mad at Jesse for kissing her. Or at least try to be mad. Truth was, she wasnt all that angry. But she couldn't think about that now. The situation was way to serious. She picked up his phone and did what he asked. After a minute of talking to the police they said they would be on their way. Scarlett hung up and listened for anything that would indicate a fight going on. During the phone call she had heard a gun go off and a couple of fighting noises, thumps and groans. But now she heard nothing and she got very scared. She was about to get up and leave the bathroom when she heard foot steps coming towards the door.

Earlier Scar had been too scared to do anything. After watching the movie and getting a big shock like that she didn't know what to do. But now that her head had cleared a little she remembered that she had a knife stashed under the sink. She ran over, grabbed it and flicked it open. The familiar feeling of the knife in her hand made her feel halfway safe. When whoever it was came through the door she would get ready to throw the knife. If it turned out to be Jesse, then she wouldn't throw it. If it was the psycho then she would throw it as best she could and hope for the best. She hoped she would be able to tell the difference in time.

When the door opened she couldn't see anything except a black silhouette. She was going to take her chances with throwing the knife when she heard Jesse's voice say her name. Scarlett was so happy that she dropped the knife on the floor and ran over to him, hugging him tight. She was extremely happy. He had not gotten hurt. He's alright. He kept his promise. But her happiness soon faded when she realized there was something on Jesse's shirt. Something dark... and wet. And it didn't take much of an imagination to guess what that dark, wet stuff was.

"Oh my God." Scarlett said as she flicked on the light. When she saw Jesse's shirt she gasped in horror. The entire front of it was red with blood and there was a hole in the middle of his shirt where a bullet had apparently entered.

But Jesse seemed oddly fine. He was standing up straight and he didn't even seem to notice the blood until Scarlett had pointed it out. But when Scarlett tried to get his shirt off so she could see how bad it was he tried hard to stop her. He was telling her that it wasnt his blood and that he was fine. But she didn't listen. And eventually she managed to get the shirt off. But when she did she was too shocked to do anything more.

About an inch above Jesse's navel was a round scar. This normally wouldn't be a big deal but it was in the exact spot that all the blood had seemed to come from. And even as she watched, it was healing. It seemed like the scar was healing in fast forward. She kept looking at it until it was completely healed, which had only taken less than a minute. Like it hadn't even been there at all. Scarlett brought her hand to her mouth and stepped away from Jesse.

"That... that's not possible." Scarlett said barely above a whisper.

"Scarlett. Just let me explain." Jesse took a step towards her and she took two steps back. He had his hands out in front of him with his palms facing forward like he was trying hard not to scare her. She didn't know who -or what- he was and right now she was too scared to find out. When he kept getting closer to her and she couldn't back away any more she ran past him as fast as she could and out of the bathroom. He tried to catch her on her way out but she was to fast and all he caught was air.

Scarlett didn't stop running until she came out into the living room. She would have gone further but she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. There was a puddle of blood on her carpet in front of her and the man who had been in the doorway earlier was standing ten feet from her. With his gun raised straight at her. She distantly heard Jesse scream "No!" but the gun that had just gone off had caught her full attention.

Unlike before, things didn't go in slow motion. Everything seemed to be going to fast to see. She saw the man in black pull the trigger, she saw Jesse tackle him a second after he did, but most of all she felt the worst pain she could ever imagine in her chest. It was excruciating pain. It was all she could think about. She couldn't even scream. The pain paralyzed her. She couldn't move and eventually she couldn't see. She tried to move beyond the pain but it was no use. It was the only thing that was processing in her at the moment. She didn't even remember falling to the ground and hitting her head. Compared to the pain in her chest, that was nothing.

Soon, the only thing she heard was Jesse yelling her name. And then she heard nothing, saw nothing, and felt nothing at all.


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing that registered with Scarlett was the pain. It was like a tightness in her chest. She didn't even want to try to move. It felt like if she did she would just manage to rip it open and make it even more painful. She tried to open her eyes but it was difficult. They started to flutter then eventually she got them open. When she actually managed to get the all the way open she saw that she was staring up at a plain white ceiling.

She tried to lift her head but it was hard. Her neck was so stiff it hurt to move it. But she did it and when she did, she realized where she was. She was in a hospital. She could tell by the way everything was so white and clean. But the only reason she could actually see anything was because a very faint light was shining beside her. It wasn't bright and it was kind of hard to see by. Then she figured out why it wasn't bright. When she looked out the window she saw that it was completely dark outside. And the light was on if she had woken up. Which she had.

Scarlett wasn't exactly sure what had happened or why she was in here. Everything seemed like a big blob of nothing. She remember Anna coming over to watch a movie. Then Jesse coming by. The last solid memory she had at the moment was Anna leaving. Things were coming back to her in little bits and pieces but nothing solid.

It took a couple of seconds to realize that someone was in the room with Scarlett.

He had his head on the bed right next to Scarlett. And he was holding her hand. She was just about to take her hand out of his when Jesse squeezed it tighter to his. He had his eyes open and Scarlett had not realized before that he had woken up. His brown eyes were staring up at hers.

She tried to say "Hi." But her throat cracked and she just realized that it was extremely dry and she couldn't even talk. Luckily, Jesse realized this and he reached over to the table and grabbed a glass of water. He lifted it to her lips and she drank it greedily. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until the water had hit her throat. The water seemed to be gone to quickly. But at least Scarlett was able to talk now.

"Thanks, Jesse." She said with a small smile. Jesse nodded in response. Scarlett looked at him and saw that he seemed...relieved that have her awake. He had a small smile on his lips and he wouldn't take his eyes off her. But she also noticed that he looked like he was expecting something to happen. Like he expected her to shun him away from her or something.. She didn't know what though and she didn't know why he was acting weird. But she had a bigger question to ask him then what was wrong with him. "What happened? Why am I here?" She asked him with a low voice. She didn't think she could get any louder with it.

"You don't remember?" Jesse asked with what seemed like a flicker of hope. For what he was hoping, Scarlett didn't know. Scarlett shook her and told him everything she did remember.

"I keep seeing flickers of things but nothing solid that I can get a grip on or get a full memory out of it."

"You honestly don't remember anything that happened the other night?"

She shook her head no.

Jesse was extremely excited now. If she didn't remember what he had done then she wouldn't ask questions. And he wouldn't have to tell her what he truly was. So, he would tell her everything that happened but just leave out the part of him. It would be true because the only person that had seen him heal so quickly was Scarlett. And no body else could say that what happened didn't happen because nobody else knew. It was perfect!

He told her about the man breaking in, about how Jesse came out to fight him off and how Scarlett was in the bathroom when he came back. But when he told her why she came out he told her that she wanted to get out of the bathroom and wait for the cops to come when the man jumped out and shot her in the chest.

"They said you were lucky to live. They said that not many people are able to survive through something like that and that you were strong enough to pull through it." While Jesse was talking he was stroking her hair affectionately. Scarlett didn't mind. From what he said he had been really brave yesterday. And Scarlett very much appreciated it. Without him, she probably wouldn't be alive.

"Oh." was all she could really think to say. It was a lot to take in at one time. And she was still wondering why Jesse had a mysterious glint in his eye.

"But your okay now. They said that you could go home in a week or two but that you need to take it easy for a while. You could easily get hurt again if you put too much pressure on your chest."

"Darn it. So I have to stay in bed for like a month?" She asked with a frown

Jesse smiled and said "Yeah. Sorry, babe." running a hand down her face.

Scar blushed and asked "Um.. Babe?"

Jesse suddenly looked sheepish. "Um... I didn't... I mean..." He kept fumbling over his sentences but luckily he was saved when the nurse came in. He blew out a sigh of relief when she started talking to Scar about how she was feeling. And by the time the nurse was gone Jesse had thought of a new conversation to distract Scarlett of the previous one of which he felt no need to speak about. He didn't know why he called her that. Maybe he was really starting to like her. But... He couldn't. It could be the end of both of them if he got to attached. But that was exactly what was happening.

Scarlett opened her eyes and looked around. She had just awoken from a rather strange dream. Her mom was in the corner of the room, laying down on the couch they had in the hospital room. Anna, Jesse, Brad, and a lot of other people who were friends with Scar had already left for the day. They each had been there for a bit of time to check on her and to make her laugh and make her feel better. Which they had. The pain was still there and it hurt like heck but, with her friends there she had felt so much better.

But now that she was alone she was able to think about the dream she had rather than talk to a bunch of people, which she would have to do if everyone was still here.

The dream had something to do with Jesse and the other night. Jesse had gotten shot. They were in the bathroom, and there was a mark above Jesse's bellybutton where he had gotten hit. But the mark soon disappeared. Soon it was like it hadn't even existed. It was bizarre. But... for some reason the dream felt more like a memory than a normal dream. Whenever Scarlett woke from a dream or nightmare she could always tell that it had only been a dream because it had a different vibe to it. Like it didn't belong in the real world and only in the recesses of her mind. This was different. It was like it fit somehow, into everything. Like, it had actually happened. But it couldn't have. Right? How was that even possible? It wasn't.

Maybe Scarlett was just going nuts. But she didn't think so. She had hit her hard but not that hard. She could still tell when something was a dream or not. And this was definitely a memory. But the reasonable part of Scarlett's mind wouldn't let her believe it. It laughed at her for even thinking it was.

For the next 10 minutes Scarlett lay awake in her bed going back and forth between what was real and what she thought was real. She didn't even realize she wasnt alone. She was still sitting in the bed thinking things over in her mind, while the man stared at her from the darkest corner of the room.

He didn't know her personally. But he knew almost everything about her now. He had researched her when he found out how badly she was messing things up for him. She was ruining everything. If she kept interfering, he would have to face her himself. The man in black obviously didn't succeed in ridding the world of her. He had not anticipated Jesse to be there. Jesse had saved her. If Jesse had been somewhere else at a different time, she would be dead. Just like she was meant to be. He could not succeed in his mission if she kept it up.

But that was fine. Because if he wanted anything done right, he had to do it himself. And in this case, things had to go exactly as he wants them to.

For a little while longer the man watched as Scarlett thought about something unknown to him. He could find out if he wanted to. But at this moment he didn't see the point. Whatever it was couldn't be that important. Or at least, it soon wouldn't be. He would have to dispose of this girl. Soon. And whatever she was to be thinking right now, would not matter ever again.

Scarlett woke up in the morning still pretty tired. She hadn't gotten much sleep. After the whole dream thing she had decided to just tell Jesse about it and if he just laughed at her she would claim it was a weird joke and she wanted to see his reaction. But that wasn't the whole reason that she was still tired. Every time she had tried to fall asleep, when she had begun to get really tried, she would get this... weird feeling. The feeling of being watched. It was ridiculous of course. She was on the second floor and there was no way anyone would have been able to get into her room without her knowing. She was an incredibly light sleeper. Unless of course she was being pumped with medicine. Which she wasn't at the moment. And on any regular night she would hear someone come in. The door on her room was really squeaky. Every time someone came in the room, whether Scar was awake or not, she would still be able to hear them come into the room. So if anyone had come in during the course of the day or when she had slept, she would have noticed.

But even though it seemed impossible, she still couldn't get rid of the feeling that someone in this room was watching her. She just had that feeling. It was more of a gut feeling that she should leave, now. It wasnt incredibly dark in the room and she could see most of it. Not all but most. And the parts she could see, there was no one there when she looked. And the darker parts still shouldnt have been dark enough to hide someone, big or small. So it was impossible no matter how she looked at it. Still. No matter how much she told herself this, her gut told her otherwise. She had even debated whether she should wake her mom and make her see if someone was in the room (she still wasnt able to get out of bed without someone or something to hold on to and even with them it still hurt her to get up). But she soon sided against it. What if she was being melodramatic and it was just the after math of what had happened to her make her feel like this? Or, if someone was there, they obviously would have hurt her by now. She had slept for the longest time so they weren't waiting for her to back to sleep. What if they were just observing her? And making her mom go over there would just get whoever it was riled up and maybe he or she would attack. Or maybe-

At that time, Scarlett had visibly shook herself. Her mind was going into over drive. It was just the fact that it was a couple of days since she had gotten attacked and she hadn't quite gotten over it. That's what she told herself anyway. But either way, there was nothing she could do about this. So, on the nightstand beside her, she picked up her iPod that her mom had brought back one day, and put her ear phones in. She turned the music up loud enough that it blocked out everything else. But not loud enough that it would sound through the ear phones and wake her mother. She had not fallen asleep easy but it was easier than it would have been if she had focused on the person whom she thought was in the room but couldn't because it was almost impossible for anyone to be in there.

Ugh. She really was paranoid.

When she woke up she tried not to think about what had happened last night (if anything had even happened at all) and instead focused her attention to finding out how she was gonna tell Jesse her little dream/Joke. But her head began to hurt from going around in circles. So. she decided to just wing it when he came to visit her, as he does every day. It was still early so he shouldnt be here for at least another hour. She decided to read one of the books her mom had brought her to pass the time away and to actually think about things that made sense.


End file.
